Flood damaged homes demolished in Percival

Wednesday

Oct 31, 2012 at 2:19 PMOct 31, 2012 at 2:41 PM

Federal Emergency Management Agency and Fremont County are responding to owners' requests for demolition of 14 homes in the Percival, Iowa, area that were destroyed or severely damaged by Missouri River flooding in 2011.

Dan Swanson

Disaster assistance programs through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Fremont County are providing for first-round demolition of 14 homes in the Percival area.

Mike Crecelius of Fremont County Emergency Management said a total of 34 residences in the county will be demolished through Fema's sheltering program.

The first round includes 14 houses that contained or may have contained asbestos.

The homes include three in the village of Percival, three near the Sapp Brothers Truck stop at Highway 2 and two west of the village.

Kay and Larry Suiter were on hand Wednesday as crews demolished their house, a trailer and a neighboring house.

Larry Suiter said flood water rushed down the ditch on the east side of the Percival Community Church after a breach in the flood levy on June 30, 2011.

A frame house and trailer at his residence and the neighboring house were on the path of the initial flood surge in town and were eventually under four feet of water.

Kay's great-grandparents bought the single-story frame house for Kay's grandmother Ruby Stewart in the 1930s. Her parents, John and Naomi Rogers, established the trailer on the lot in 1973.

The Suiters moved to Wisconsin after the flood evacuation and plan to stay there.

Kelly Demolition of Mt. Vernon, Iowa, is contracted for the demolitions. Fema pays up to 85 percent of the demolition costs and the county pays up to 15 percent.

Crecelius said all of the houses were listed on the preliminary damage assessment as being destroyed or sustaining major damage.

Property owners received letters from Fema explaining that demolition could be paid for through the sheltering program's 403 section. Property owners were asked to register property, if they wanted assistance with demolition.